Case Number 17502

WOLF (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

The Animal is Out.

Opening Statement

"It feels good to be a wolf, doesn't it? Power without guilt. Love
without doubt."

Facts of the Case

Will Randall (Jack Nicholson, Chinatown) is a middle-aged New York
book editor whose career is on the decline. His boss (Christopher Plummer,
The Sound of Music) has just demoted Will and handed Will's old job to
the eager young Stewart Swinton (James Spader, Boston Legal). One night
as Will is driving home, he accidentally hits a wolf. The wolf appears to be
dead, so Will gets out of the car to drag the creature to the side of the road.
Suddenly, the wolf awakens and bites Will on the hand. Will checks in with his
doctor, gets a rabies shot, and everything initially seems to be normal.
However, as the next few days pass, Will discovers that his senses are behaving
in an exceptionally strange manner. His eyesight is perfect, his sense of smell
is astonishing, and he can hear every conversation taking place within his
office building. He is filled with a newfound sense of vitality and determines
to do whatever it takes to get his prestigious job back. Alas, these remarkable
new powers come with a few side effects. It would seem that our formerly
mild-mannered book editor is slowly transforming into a werewolf.

The Evidence

In addition to getting its own Blu-ray release, Mike Nichols' 1994 thriller
Wolf is being packaged as part of a box set with two other monster movies
of the 1990s, Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula and Kenneth
Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Despite the fact that these are
all big-budget monster movies featuring big-name actors, the Nichols outing
represents a dramatic change in style from the other two. While Dracula
and Frankenstein are bombastic exercises in gothic melodrama, Wolf
attempts to create as realistic and convincing a story as the werewolf movie
genre will permit. It isn't on a par with the best of Nichols' work, but it
remains an intelligent and engaging effort that frequently transcends the
conventions of the genre.

What really interests me is the way Nicholson approaches his performance.
The expected thing might have been for Nicholson to make this re-teaming with
Michelle Pfeiffer an encore version of The Witches of Eastwick, having
the character begin as a version of the standard Jack Nicholson role and later
transform into a wild beast of overacting and special effects. No. In
Wolf, Nicholson begins on a quiet, low-key note that occasionally hints
at his masterful performance down the road in About Schmidt, then slowly
transforms into a slightly subtle yet carnal take on the swaggering, confident
Jack Nicholson we all know and love. Not at any point does Nicholson's behavior
seem to go too far or enter the realm of unintentional comedy, not even during
those oh-so-difficult later scenes when he is in full-blown werewolf mode.
Through a combination of subtle facial mannerism and speech patterns, Nicholson
offers a fascinating slow-burn character evolution over the course of the film's
125 minutes.

Despite the fact that this was a very expensive werewolf film, it spends
surprisingly little time indulging the viewer with carnivorous scenes of action
and horror. Nichols is not particularly interested in such things; the moments
in which he actually includes them feel obligatory rather than inspired. His
interest is in studying the effects of these things on the human being
blessed/cursed with such an unusual condition. The pace is relaxed, taking time
for such small things like conversations and examinations into the
little-considered everyday peculiarities caused by Will's condition. It's
fortunate that once Will changes, he does not become a one-note "wolfish
individual," but remains a complex and distinct human being who just
happens to have lost a few of his inhibitions. The new Will is still smart,
still has a sense of humor, and still has good taste in literature. He is
ordering his steak rare rather than well-done, though.

The artistic and production values are strong throughout. Cinematographer
Giuseppe Rotunno gives the film an elegant sense of style. Screenwriters Jim
Harrison and Wesley Strick provide a literate script filled with an understated
sense of wit. Rick Baker's makeup effects are strong. Ennio Morricone's score
finds a nice balance between terror and a sense of curious fascination. The
supporting cast is loaded with sharp performances courtesy of Christopher
Plummer, Kate Nelligan, Eileen Atkins, James Spader, David Hyde Piece, Ron
Rifkin and Richard Jenkins. It's a classy production from head to toe.

I wish I could say the same for the Blu-ray transfer, which has some
significant problems. Despite retaining a natural cinematic look complete with a
moderate level of grain, there are quite a few shots that are shockingly soft
and lacking in detail. There are moments here that would be crummy for a DVD
release, much less a Blu-ray disc. Moments, mind you. Large portions of the film
look strong and sharp. Darker scenes do have some depth, but blacks tend to be a
bit overwhelming at times. The opening credits sequence looks rather terrible,
too. The audio is similarly problematic, despite significant levels of energy
during the high-octane scenes. The Morricone score sounds a bit wobbly and
damaged, while the dialogue isn't as crisp and clear as you would expect from a
film made in the '90s. The track is well-distributed, just not as clean as I'd
like it to be. There are no extras included on the disc.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

I mentioned that the werewolf scenes feel a bit obligatory. They do, but
they're functional. However, one aspect of the film really doesn't work for me.
The romantic relationship between Pfeiffer and Nicholson seems very forced. When
the climactic moment comes in which the two finally make love, it doesn't seem
like an organic extension of the relationship that has been developing so much
as two actors obeying the commands of the screenplay. There's nothing wrong with
the performances, but there's nothing to convince us that these two people would
fall for each other, supernatural elements involved or otherwise.

Closing Statement

Wolf is a good film, but I can't recommend an upgrade to this mediocre
Blu-ray disc for those who own the DVD.

The Verdict

The film is not guilty; the Blu-ray disc fails in both the technical
department and the supplemental area.